ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF RESEARCH-FOCUSED DOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN NURSING

A strong curriculum is an essential component of research-focused doctoral education in nursing;

however, it is not sufficient for ensuring that graduates achieve the desired outcomes. Research- focused doctoral programs must include a minimum set of additional essential elements:

qualified faculty and students; infrastructure and resources to support the program; and a comprehensive evaluation program to assure attainment of goals and continuous improvement.

These essential elements should be in place by the time a program admits its first students and must be maintained thereafter in order to ensure its sustainability.

A sufficient cadre of experienced and well qualified faculty who are being mentored and supported in their scholarship is essential to the success of a research-intensive doctoral program. Faculty members must represent a diversity of backgrounds and intellectual perspectives.

Further, they must be seasoned researchers with productive programs of independent research who are strong mentors and role models for scholarship in an interdisciplinary environment, and they must help to create an environment that socializes students as research scholars. There must be sufficient numbers of such faculty members to assure (1) that each student is provided with opportunities to generate new knowledge and its application and dissemination; (2) depth of coverage for the major curricular components; (3) a core of mentors in one or more areas of research emphasis; and (4) a scholarly learning community.

A sufficient pool of applicants for the program must be available so that selected students are highly qualified, diverse, committed, and motivated to develop a research career, with goals that

39

are congruent with those of the faculty, school, and institution. The research interests of

individual students should coincide with the research programs in which one or more faculty are engaged, in order to ensure adequate mentorship and dissertation guidance. Throughout the program there should be a sufficiently large cohort of students to create a scholarly learning community. As part of their scholarly work, the students must commit a significant proportion of their time to the program and demonstrate a pattern of productive scholarship by assisting or taking the lead in the preparation of competitive grants for external funding and peer-reviewed papers and presentations.

Resources essential to a successful research-intensive doctorate include a parent institution and school with support structures that provide for the financial and academic needs of the students and faculty. Such structures include training and research grants and other sources of external funding; research administration expertise to handle regulatory and funder compliance, peer review and IRB review management, budget assistance and compliance oversight, grants submission; technical support for research design, data management, and analysis; institutional support for library facilities including knowledge databases, information technology, and state- of-the-art communication resources; and adequate classroom, seminar, and laboratory space and facilities. The program should be an integral component of a university in which the core mission includes research and in which the environment actively fosters interdisciplinary scholarship and collaboration.

Finally, a comprehensive, systematic, and ongoing evaluation plan is an essential element of success and must be a component of the research-intensive doctoral program from its inception.

The evaluation plan must be designed to assess the extent to which its graduates attain the desired outcomes of the program and to measure whether its processes and outcomes meet the standards of the parent institution as well as national benchmarks for research-intensive doctorates in nursing. The evaluation plan should solicit input from and provide ongoing feedback to a variety of sources, including its students, graduates, faculty, administration, and professional or other relevant external constituencies. The extent to which the program is adequately supported as well as the extent to which the program uses resources efficiently and effectively must be assessed on an ongoing, regular basis.

The essential elements described above are considered important criteria upon which to base institutional decisions regarding the implementation of a research-focused doctoral program, as well as to guide periodic reviews of program quality and sustainability. Table 2 includes a detailed summary of these four essential elements: well-prepared faculty and administration, well-qualified students, appropriate resources and infrastructure, and a comprehensive evaluation plan. It also includes examples of how these elements are reflected in strong programs.

40

Table 2. Essential Elements for Research-Focused Doctoral Programs in Nursing

Topic Essential Element Examples

FACULTY AND ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP:

Faculty as a whole

I. A sufficiently large cadre of faculty to create an intellectual community and provide sufficient guidance and oversight/advising for students in one or more substantive areas of

emphasis.

II. Represent and value a diversity of backgrounds and intellectual perspectives.

III. Meet the requirements of the parent institution for graduate research and doctoral education.

•

Faculty research teams sharing a specific program of research.

•

Several faculty members with programs of research in each Of the emphasis

areas/substantive foci identified as being available within the program.

•

Networks of faculty within and outside the school and parent institution that could provide appropriate co- mentorship.

•

Faculty includes individuals from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds.

•

Faculty reflects diversity.

•

Faculty includes nurses with doctoral preparation in a variety of disciplines other than nursing and non-nurses with preparation in other disciplines. senior faculty ranks.

41

IV. Create an environment in which mentoring, socialization of students as research scholars, and the

•

Meet regularly with students

•

Students actively participate in scholarly activities within the Academy and network with faculty and each other and with scholars in other departments and disciplines.

•

Regular journal clubs and scholarly seminars are convened.

•

Director is provided with a minimum of 20% effort to administer the program.

existence of an intellectual

community of scholars is evident. In addition, create an environment in which processes and opportunities are provided to students to generate new knowledge and application from the faculty's or student's research.

v. Director

of doctoral program with excellent academic credentials, leadership skills, scholarly productivity with evidence of an extramurally funded research program, and designated time to conduct administrative requirements

I. Maintain productive programs of research that:

A. Are developed over time and build upon previous work;

B. Are at the cutting edge of the field of inquiry;

C. Are congruent with research priorities within nursing and its constituent communities;

D. Include a substantial proportion of extramural funding; and

E. Attract and engage students.

II. Make scholarly contributions to the discipline, as indicated by:

A. Extramural grant awards in

support of research or scholarship;

B. Peer-reviewed publications of research, theory, or philosophical essays;

C. Presentations of research, theory, or philosophical essays;

D. Scientific review activities such as with NIH study sections and other external research funding and peer-reviewed publications .

42

grant application review groups;

E. Editorial review activities;

F. State, regional, national, or international recognition as a scholar in an identified area; and G. Evidence of influence on public

and health policy throughout the field.

III. Collaborate effectively on

•

Have collaborators in other interdisciplinary research teams. disciplines, schools, and

departments and international collaborators.

•

Participate and/or lead interdisciplinary

collaborations.

IV. Identify, generate, and utilize

•

Participate in continuing resources within the university and education and courses offered broader community to support outside the school.

program goals.

•

Participate in and support inter-disciplinary/inter- departmental planning activities and programs.

v.

Teach, advise, and mentor effectively

•

Each faculty member should and creatively, with a strong serve as the major

commitment to excellence. adviser/chair for a limited number of students (e.g., 3-5 students).

•

Meet regularly with advisees and provide thoughtful critique regarding student products.

•

Support students to prepare publications and grants and assist them in their

preparation.

•

Support students to attend and participate in regional and

national scholarly events.

•

Provide opportunities for students to collaborate with

43

I. Students are selected from a pool of highly qualified and motivated applicants who represent diverse populations.

II. Students demonstrate commitment to a research career.

III. Students' research goals and objectives are congruent with the goals and major foci of the doctoral program, faculty research expertise, and program resources.

•

Evidence of past performance indicates that students can succeed in a rigorous program of study (e.g., grades, GRE scores, past publications).

•

Student's goals reflect strong and sustained interest in research and scholarship.

•

Student's research interests are congruent with the

I. Students seek financial support through competitive intramural and extramural academic and research awards.

II. Students commit a significant portion of their time to the program.

III. Students complete the program in a timely fashion.

IV. Students demonstrate a pattern of productive scholarship and collaboration with researchers in

•

By the end of their first year, student will submit a grant proposal (e.g., NRSA or equivalent) for extramural funding.

•

Student works as a research assistant for a funded project.

•

Generally doctoral study is full-time. If the student is part-time, there is evidence that he/she is participating in scholarly activities beyond attending class (i.e., becoming socialized into a scholarly role).

•

Student progress is monitored regularly and is consistent with university standards for time to graduation.

•

Students submit manuscripts for publication and abstracts for presentation at

44

nursing and other disciplines in scientific endeavors to include peer- reviewed publications and

presentation of scholarly work.

V. Student dissertations are guided by a faculty mentor or team of mentors with expertise in the field.

VI. There is a sufficiently large cohort of students to create a critical mass and scholarly learning community.

regional/national meetings.

•

Students maintain a portfolio and/or resume of scholarly work.

•

A team of mentors with relevant expertise is

established if the student's Work is outside the expertise of a nursing faculty member.

•

At least 3-5 students are admitted yearly.

RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

I. Sufficient human, financial, and institutional resources are available to accomplish the goals of the unit for doctoral education and faculty research.

A. The parent institution exhibits the following characteristics:

1) Research is an explicit component of the mission of the parent institution;

2) An office of research administration;

3) A record of peer-reviewed external funding;

4) Post-doctoral programs;

5) Internal research funds;

6) Mechanisms that value,

7) A university environment that fosters interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

B. The school/college offering the nursing doctoral program exhibits the following characteristics:

•

Internal funds are available for competitive pilot projects or for travel to meetings for scholarly presentations.

•

The university and/or school have funded post-doctoral trainees.

•

There is an active research office in the school and/or university that provides

45

programs of research as well as other faculty experts to provide substantive expertise and mentor students in other role preparations.

2) Infrastructure that supports

•

Free access to online and high quality faculty and print journals, books,

student research; literature, and search support.

(a) Peer review of proposals

•

^Designated

and manuscripts in their study/office/meeting space development phases; for doctoral students.

(b) Research design (hardware, software and technology support expertise); and (e) Expertise in grant

proposal development and management, including ethical and human subjects training and support. meeting and socializing;

and

(c) Seminars and small group work.

C. Mechanisms for financial support

•

Scholarships are available for for doctoral students, ideally to doctoral students for tuition encourage and allow full-time and/or stipends.

study.

•

PhD program has access to

funded training grants that

46

II. State-of-the-art technical and support services are available and accessible to faculty, students, and staff for state of the science information

acquisition, communication, and management.

III. Library and data and knowledge-base resources are sufficient to support the scholarly endeavors of faculty and students.

support doctoral students.

•

Allowable percentage of federal nurse traineeship funds is available to students in research-focused doctoral program.

EVALUATION I. A comprehensive evaluation plan, supported by sufficient resources, is in place, and has the following

characteristics:

A. Is systematic, ongoing,

comprehensive, and focuses on the university's and program's specific mission and goals;

B. Assesses the extent to which graduates attain the desired outcomes of the program;

C. Includes comprehensive process and outcome data to allow assessment of the degree to which the program demonstrates indicators of quality and to determine patterns, trends, and future directions;

D. Engages students and graduates in the evaluation process as part of their learning experience;

E. Includes data from a variety of internal and external

constituencies;

F. Compares program processes and outcomes to the standards of the

•

Specific budget is allocated to ongoing evaluation of

doctoral program, faculty, and student outcomes.

•

An annual survey of graduates is conducted to assess their current status and graduation (the 3-year point allows assessment of post- doctoral fellowship and related accomplishments).

•

^Student feedback is solicited regarding specific courses, mentoring, and general academic milieu.

•

There are regular, systematic external evaluations of the program (e.g., every 5 years).

47

parent graduate school or university and benchmark research-focused doctoral programs in nursing.

G. Provides ongoing feedback to

•

Faculty members receive program faculty, administrators, annual evaluations and

and external constituents to

feedb ack. promote program improvement.

II. The evaluation plan provides

•

Evaluation data are provided comprehensive data to determine to appropriate audiences and patterns and trends and recommend there is demonstrated

future directions at regular intervals. evidence that the data are used to promote

ongoing program improvement.

III. Assesses whether the program is

•

Program is fiscally sound. supported with adequate human,

financial, and institutional resources.

IV. Assesses whether the program uses resources efficiently and effectively.

VI. INCREASING THE NUMBER AND DIVERSITY OF RESEARCH-FOCUSED

In document FORMAL PROPOSAL FOR A NEW DEGREE PROGRAM (Traditional/Face-to-Face Delivery) (Page 38-47)